Illustrated Manuscript of the Rawda al-Ushshaq (Garden of Lovers) of Arifi

This is an illustrated copy of Rawda al-Ushshaq (Garden of Lovers) by Arif (also known as Arifi). Fethullah Arif Chelebi was the official court historian during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-66), the Ottoman sultan in whose reign the post had been established. Arif held this office from the early 1550s until 1561. In 1558 Arif completed the Suleymanname, the first official illustrated history of the Ottoman dynasty. This text was composed in Persian following the meter of Firdawsi’s Shahnama, and chronicled the deeds of Suleyman the Magnificent. Rawda al-Ushshaq is composed in Persian as well. After an introduction about the prophet, there is a section praising Suleyman as the ruler of Islam. The rest of the text is composed of several stories, interspersed with accounts on the virtues of speech, wisdom, and inquiry. The manuscript has sixty-six folios. The text is written in twelve lines and two columns in fine nastaliq script on gold-sprinkled paper. The manuscript contains three paintings on 23r, 29v, and 41v depicting specific stories in the text. The leather binding has gilded center and corner pieces on the outside and a single center piece on the inside. The outside is brown colored while the inside is burgundy.